There was not a single dry eye in the house on Sunday 4th November as 40 years of racing came to an end at the Arena Essex Raceway – a track that has had its up’s and down’s over the years but has remained a part of many people’s hearts, whether that be the memories that people have of going to watch or the thrill the drivers had when they raced at the ‘action track.’
The track closed with probably the most successful meeting of its kind that has always pulled in a massive crowd, even when the booking lists haven’t been the best. I am of course talking about the Firecracker.
Firecracker has always provided some awesome machinery and some great crashes over the course of its 27-year history. Who can forget that massive Consolation crash in 2004, in which 241 Paul Korpiela’s Lincoln Town Limo was picked up on the back straight by Dirk Audenaerde and 761 James Perry and followed into the pit-bend pile up where Korpiela’s Limo took off and nearly went over the catch fencing. It was an extraordinary crash which as gone down in Banger ‘folk-law.’
But of course, Arena Essex will not only be known for its Firecracker exploits, but also the fantastic moments that occurred in its illustrious 40-year history. Arena Essex has staged some fantastic meetings including the ORCi National Banger World Final which always provided controversy in some shape or form, and up until more recently – a massive field of cars which would always bring in a massive crowd too.
Other notable meetings were the Shakedown which was Unlimited National Bangers up until 2012 when the 2LTR National Bangers were added. In 2017, Micro National Bangers were added and replaced both the Unlimiteds and 2LTR’s, but in 2018, the Unlimiteds were added back on to the fixture. However, they got a poor turn out of around eight cars – all be it in awful Baltic conditions. Ignoring the last few years though, the Shakedown would be a great meeting with a massive grid of cars and would be a traditionally great season opener. Another Unlimited meeting that could produce some great racing was the Shootout which was normally in May. One moment that sticks into my mind from that meeting was 555 ‘Roy-Boy’ Rawlins ‘Flower-Power’ car!
The Festival of Speed meetings would also be a great day of action with nearly all PRI formulas racing including the annual Essex vs Kent team event which was always a savage affair in which drivers who raced for the same team week-in-week out would become enemies for the day – and trust me, they did!
That brings me onto the PRI team tournament in which teams would battle it out over a certain number of rounds over the course of the season before the two highest scoring teams from those rounds would battle it out in a 10 on 10 head to head race in which the last car running or the race winner would win the PRI Teams’ Championship for his or her team. It always provided some very lively meetings with many team wars being formed as a catalyst of these meetings.
That’s another thing Arena Essex is known for, whether rightly or wrongly. When I first started going to Arena Essex in the early noughties, the Suicide Squad and Condoms rivalry was just coming to an end. A team war that had been fought out at the track for much for the 90’s that provided some classic PRI Arena Essex moments. The two teams came back out for one last blast at the Olly Moran/Maya Ford Memorial in 2013 which attracted a massive crowd of around 10,000 people with over 200 cars racing over the course of two days in a truly ‘one-off’ kind of event.
Then in the mid-noughties the Desert Rats were warring with the Gigglers, and one of the most dominant teams in recent years, the Midnight Runners who have won various teams’ titles, not just at their local track but all over the United Kingdom.
Soon after in the mid-to-late noughties, the Gladiators took on the might of the Bad Company led by 348 Sonny ‘Mushy’ Sherwood. This was a bitter rivalry which turned sour just before the 2008 season got underway which led to the Gladiators not racing at a track which they called ‘home’ for much of the season.
But around twelve months later, a new team formed called the Blue Crew with the likes of the Leybourne’s in their ranks, who formerly raced for the Desert Rats in the height of their war with the Gigglers and the Midnight Runners. And so, the Blue Crew took on the Midnight Runners just as the 2008 season was coming to a close. The battle continued throughout 2009 and ended in mid-2010 after Midnight Runner star 331 ‘Boxer Jack’ Jason Jackson was injured during a head-to-head between the two teams.
In 2012, the Gladiators returned to the track and started to war with the Cream Team who had some ex-Bad Company members in their ranks in the shape of 456 Nathan Roberts, 552 ‘Blacknuts’ Karl Douglas and 161 Wayne Byrne. This war provided many big hits and controversial moments which I think it’s fair to say, escalated way out of proportion. However, during the 2015 head-to-head team meeting at the track organised by 10 Paul Whiteman to raise money for the Meningitis Charity, the two teams wanted one last head-to-head with each team fielding around 16 drivers each. As you can expect, it was a savage affair with plenty of big hits, but it must be said, fair hits in which all drivers jumped out safe and sound, shook hands and had a laugh about it, just how Banger Racing should be!
There hasn’t really been a war at the track since then but like it or not, Arena Essex prided itself on the wars as they would bring in a big crowd of fans with some great crashing, even at domestic meetings with relatively low car turn outs.
But let’s return our attention to the Final Farewell. There was a massive booking list of 240 Unlimited National Bangers with a few names and teams of the past having one last go around the Essex Oval. One of these teams’ being the Levellers who would often be in the thick of the action at Firecracker’s of the past – normally piloting old Jaguar’s, and this year was no different, other than 478 Chris Speirs who had a used Ford Scorpio and 305 John Kirkbride who turned out a lovely Volvo 240 Saloon. 591 Marc Blower, 688 Wayne Morphet and 874 Howard Walker all had really nicely presented ones whilst 810 Alex McBain raced an already used one.
Another team who haven’t raced at Arena Essex for a few years is the Aftermath who are more suited to more mid-range cars such as Bluebirds and Mondeos but are also more than capable in the Unlimited category – never afraid to get involved in the action and always taking home a bent motor! They were led into Arena Essex by 100 ‘Cock’ Callum White who still races now – he turned out a lovely Jaguar Hearse. Also, in attendance were 602 Shaun Cooper, 603 Jonny Cooper and 604 Ross Cooper, all piloting Jaguar X300’s.
Moving on to some of the individuals now and there were a few names who we haven’t seen for a few years. One of which was 13 ‘PeeWee’ Pieter Leistra who is somewhat of a Firecracker legend always turning out a beautiful old car, wrecking his way through the day and fixing any damage sustained – a true entertainer and gentlemen. We must also say congratulations to ‘PeeWee’ on his engagement! 738 Elliot Dobson is a name who some people may have forgotten or never even heard of, but again, Elliot is a name synonymous with Firecracker. He would normally pilot an old Rolls Royce with a screaming V8 in it and chuck it around the track. He may not have been the quickest, but it would certainly be one of the loudest! This year was no different with Elliot securing yet another old Rolls with a V8 painted in his trade-mark Black with a Red roof and pillars with flames on the front.
The pits were bursting to the seams with some of the biggest names in the sport who still race today with around 30 drivers from across the water coming over to bid their farewell to the track. However, there wasn’t just some great drivers in attendance as they piloted some cracking machinery too. There was around 15 Limo’s and Hearse’s in attendance amongst loads of other big ‘Yank Tanks’ and some old bits of ‘tin’ – all ready to send the track off in style!
Heat 1:
The first race saw around 30 cars take to the track and was a quiet affair. It began with 891 Jack Warwick following in 27 Andy Reynolds on turn’s one and two before spinning him on the exit of turn two. 508 Harry Hunt didn’t get away initially and was a sitting duck on the back straight as was 71 James Unwin. The red flags were deployed to recover Hunt’s stationary car.
The restart saw 24 ‘Devestator’ Maek Delaat attacking the Ford Scorpio Limo of 449 Will Guppy on the entrance to the pit bend, also collecting 604 Ross Cooper as the three went into the armco barrier in the middle of turn’s three and four. All three managed to get going again before 17 Kyle Overy pushed Dutchman 178 Ruud Van Kuijk into the armco barrier on the pit bend.
Race Winner: 356 Harry Overy
Heat 2:
The second heat started with a big push on the exit of turn four which saw 242 Ricky Korpiela take a couple of hard hits as the field came through. Cars were going all over the place which led to 741 Charlie Daniels going air borne on the shale on turn one after hitting one of the marker tyres. The red flags were brought out to check on the well-being of Ricky after them couple of hits.
The restart saw 184 Lee Mott get spun on the exit of turn four by the Hearse of Giggler 383 Jeff Smith before getting clipped by 599 John Hendy Jnr and 25 Rene Delaat ‘Mr Ductape’ damaging his rear right suspension. There was a big push into turn’s one and two as well involving 100 ‘Crazy Wes’ Wesley Wambeke who was subsequently jacked by 388 Taylor ‘Lump’ Sowter. Meanwhile, 599 Hendy Jnr followed in number 3 Aidan Greenhow on turn’s three and four and was jacked by 388 ‘Lump’ bringing out the red flags for a second time.
The second restart saw 599 Hendy Jnr attack 383 Jeff Smith on the entrance to turn three, half-spinning the Gigglers driver. Going slowly down the home straight, Smith was then jacked by 100 ‘Crazy Wes’. Meanwhile, 209 ‘Tombo’ Tom Waller followed in 97 ‘Desanusseur’ Lasse Henri Julien on turn’s one and two getting a decent amount of air time before the Continental’s big people carrier came down on all four’s and carried on before grinding to a halt on the exit of turn two. 388 ‘Lump’ then turned it around and gave a head on to 25 ‘Mr Ductape’ on turn four. ‘Lump’ then reversed out of it and met 383 Smith with a solid head on allowing 209 ‘Tombo’ to go ploughing into the Giggler’s Hearse. 114 Liam Lake attacked a slow ‘Crazy Wes’ on the entrance to turn three just before he also went into the Jeff Smith Hearse, killing it off. 388 ‘Lump’ then went into the stationary ‘Crazy’ Wes’ car once more.
Race Winner: 623 ‘Tricky’ Ricky Hutton
Heat 3:
The third heat saw 305 John Kirkbride get spun on the home straight leading to him getting t-boned through the passenger doors by 77 Patch Beasley. 7 Tim Munday was spun on turn one and t-boned hard through the passenger side of his Jaguar X300 by 192 ‘Pavaroti Jnr’ Gregory Deluyck. ‘Pavaroti Jnr’ was then jacked hard by ‘Real Steel’ Limo of 747 Bradley Dee leaving ‘Pavaroti Jnr’s’ Yank Estate a big wreck. 265 Stephen Grundy Jnr then went on opposite on turn two to attack 941 Jimmy Matthews who retaliated by giving Grundy Jnr a head on of his own. Grundy Jnr was then jacked by 753 Ricky Wyeth in his Lincoln Town Limo.
Race Winner: 570 Jordan Cumming
Heat 4:
Heat four saw a small scuffle occur on turn four with a few cars involved that all managed to get going again. 733 Ricky Stroud then picked up number 13 ‘PeeWee’ who picked up the Ghostbusters Hearse of 282 Bobby Daniels and followed it in at high speed on turn three. 27 Tommy Anderson and 229 Dean Jarvis were spun on the exit of turn four and were both collected a few times by a big pack of cars who had nowhere to go. The red flags were brought out for Dean Jarvis who took a completely accidental hit in the driver’s door from West Country man 841 Tom Perkins.
The restart saw 282 Daniels able to creep forward a little bit and tag the rear left corner of 842 Jack Perkins sending him into a spin on the exit of turn four. Perkins was then hit over the right rear corner by 94 Jan Willem Stevens. Over on turn one, 402 Charlie Callard pushed 13 ‘PeeWee’ into the parked car of 267 Dom West giving him a massive head on as a few more cars followed suit creating a small pile up. 94 Stevens went in and jacked 776 Terry Senford’s Ford Scorpio Limo. Number 10 Paul Whiteman followed in number 4 Harvey Cowell on turn three by the pit gate only for Cowell to then receive a jacking from 733 Stroud. 66 Darren Geary was then spun on turn’s three and four by 204 ‘Charlie Boy’ King and hit over the front left wheel by 331 ‘Boxer Jack’ Jason Jackson. Geary then went for ‘Boxer’ but missed, hitting the inside curb. 10 Whiteman then came in and hit Geary over his rear right wheel. Geary then got his man as he swung his Jaguar back around and delivered a head on to 331 ‘Boxer’. ‘Boxer’ then pinned Geary allowing for Midnight Runner teammate Whiteman to jack Geary. Meanwhile, 733 Stroud met 776 Senford with a head on. 203 Darren Nash then jacked the Senford Limo. Whiteman then turned it around and hit Geary over the front right wheel. Geary manged to reverse back but got himself caught on the inside curb. Seeing red, ‘Boxer’ cut across the shale to deliver a wicked shot to Geary’s Jaguar. 449 Bill Crittenden jacked Senford as ‘Boxer’ then turned it around again to deliver another shot to the rear of Geary’s Jaguar just as the red flags came out.
Darren Geary got out of his wrecked Jaguar to a massive cheer from the pit bend crowd, whilst ‘Boxer’ was met with boo’s – which he must be used to by now. It was a series of events that has caused a debate online as to whether it was a legal shot or not with many calling for ‘Boxer’ to receive a ban.
Race Winner: 322 Tom Fox
Heat 5:
The fifth heat saw 812 Lewis Winter get spun from the start in the middle of turn’s three and four. 2018 ORCi PRI National Banger World Champion 271 Dean Goodearl give a text book following in to 107 Benjamin ‘McFly’ Dechamps in his raw Ford Granada MK2 Saloon over on turn’s three and four. 222 Matty High pushed the big Lincoln Town Limo of 810 David ‘Smithy’ Smith into the pit bend where he went head on into the armco snapping his Limo. 108 Lewis Jefcoate also got caught up in the action. 688 Wayne Morphet of the Levellers then followed in the big Lincoln Town Limo of 406 Charlie Court who got pushed into ‘McFly’s’ dead car. The red flags were subsequently brought out for a roll over on turn two for 169 Steve Horsefield.
The restart saw a few cars getting pushed into the mini pile up on turn’s three and four with all managing to escape relatively unscathed. 681 ‘Winks’ James Hutchings spun by himself on turn four and was hit over the rear right wheel by 141 Garry Lee. 602 Shaun Cooper attacked the Toyota Previa 312 Tom Reynolds on the back straight and spun him with 448 Alfie Crittenden hitting Reynolds over his front right wheel. Lewis Winter then delivered a head on to 448 Crittenden only to be t-bonned through the passenger doors by 157 Dom Hall. 449 Bill Crittenden then went in on 812 Winter’s Yank, hitting it over the rear left wheel. 688 Morphet then came in to deliver yet another head on to 448 Crittenden. 312 Reynolds was moving very slowly going into turn one and was hit in the rear by 602 Cooper in his Aftermath X300 Jaguar with both drivers spinning on impact. With broken steering, 141 Garry Lee piled into the Limo of 406 Charlie Court on the pit bend. 681 James Hutchings got pushed into turn three by 382 Tommy Hutchings, going in hard on the stationary Limo of David Smith. 602 Shaun Cooper met 261 Dom Davies head on on turn two and was hit over his rear left corner by 157 Dom Hall.
Race Winner: 648 Jamie Smith
Heat 6:
The sixth heat saw 291 Micky Turner spin on the pit bend in his Lincoln Town Limo which caused a small scuffle for the rest of the field as they came around the bend. 70 Sophie Unwin got jacked by Aftermath’s 603 Jonny Cooper as more cars tried avoiding what could have been a catalyst for a chaotic track blockage. 291 Turner was then t-boned through the side by 603 Cooper as he parked his Limo in the middle of turn’s three and four across the track. 82 Ben Beasley was struggling to find any momentum and was hit hard by 774 ‘Meatball’ Peter Sill going into turn one getting scrapped right along the armco barrier and into the back of the stationary 164 Jake Henstock Mercedes. DWO ‘hard-hitter’ 239 ‘Nemesis’ Steve Carter went pilling in to 258 Philip Blowers on the nose over on turn’s one and two. ‘Nemesis’ then went on opposite on turn four in his lush Jaguar and t-boned 824 Chris Polley through the passenger doors spinning him out. The pair then met gently on the nose. ‘Nemesis’ then done the same to 599 Matt Butcher damaging his left rear suspension.
Race Winner: 192 Anthony Lawrence
Consolation 1:
With night time looming over Essex, a big field of cars returned to the track for the first consolation race for those looking to get into the last Firecracker Final who failed to qualify via the heat races. There was a big push going into turn three by the pit gate in the mid-pack which led to leveller 478 Chris Speirs getting followed in. 94 Jack Anscombe pilled in over 84 Jack Ansell’s right rear corner on turn’s three and four. 94 Anscombe was lurking on opposite on turn four and was hit hard on the nose by 444 Charlie Jackson. Anscombe was then jacked at high speed by 444 Jackson – demobilising both cars. 737 Ian ‘Crash’ Crandon, who didn’t have much (if any) steering left went pilling into 94 Anscombe’s Taxi and 444 Jackson’s Mercedes Saloon. Crandon was trying to turn his Previa back around but was struggling and so received a massive hit over the rear left corner by 305 Alfie Cornish who actually came via opposite. 301 Albert Troost was struggling to get going again on the shale on the home straight and was hit hard by 271 Dean Goodearl just behind the driver’s door – revenge for when Troost jacked Goodearl earlier in the race. 348 ‘Mushy’ Sonny Sherwood then hit 737 ‘Crandon’ over the rear right corner.
Meanwhile, whilst all this was going on on turn’s three and four, a massive track blockage ensued on turn two with some monstrous hits going in. 305 Cornish jacked 310 John Nicholson, ‘caging’ his Jaguar. Midnight Runner 556 Louis Barker was jacked hard by 88 Billy Page. There were loads of other amazing hits going in but because of the smoke that was bellowing out from the dead machinery and wheel spinning cars, all trying to get going again, it was impossible to keep track of it all! 294 Lee Hughes came through all the destruction to win the race!
Race Winner: 294 Lee Hughes
Consolation 2:
The second consolation got underway with 016 Cedric Van Thillo getting followed in gently by 577 Alfie Lee on turn four. 732 Danny Stroud got caught up with 130 Roy De Jong and was jacked hard by 337 Giel Koorn. 583 Dan Weeks was followed in hard into the driver’s door of Continental 192 ‘Pavaroti Jnr’ with an enormous, accidental hit on the entry to turn three. The red flags were immediately brought out and a hush over the stadium with everyone concerned about the crash they had just witnessed. Thankfully though, ‘Pavaroti Jnr’ got out of his own accord which is proof of how strong and how important driver’s door plates are in a situation like that. Had it not been built properly; the consequences could have been a lot worse!
The restart saw 25 ‘Mr Ductape’ jack the 111 car of Danny Draper who had hit the 97 car of Lasse Henri Julien on the entrance to turn one. 311 ‘Helm’ Lee Bradbury came in and jacked 25 ‘Mr Ductape’. 108 Jefcoate get spun on turn three before he was jacked slowly by 527 Danny Gardner. Jefcoate was then hit on the nose by the Hearse of 281 Scott Parry who was then jacked by the ever-lively 222 car of Matty High. 190 Steve Bailey ‘Pikey’ then jacked 222 High. 77 Patch Beasley then t-bonned 688 Wayne Morphet on opposite on turn four just as 577 Alfie Lee delivered a massive jacking to 108 Jefcoate’s Volvo Estate. The red flags were brought out again to check on the well-being of 108 Jefcoate.
The second restart saw 688 Morphet get jacked hard by 190 ‘Pikey’ with an enormous jacking at high speed, absolutely ruining the Levellers Jaguar.
Race Winner: 456 Nathan Roberts
Consolation 3:
The third and final consolation saw a much smaller grid of cars out compared to the other two. It began with 603 Jonny Cooper getting spun on turn’s one and two, leading to him getting t-boned through the passenger doors by 13 ‘PeeWee’. 164 Henstock was hit by 13 ‘PeeWee’ on turn three and spun around whilst ‘PeeWee’ was hit by the Taxi of 61 Dan Reid. Henstock then received a solid head on from 751 Lawrence Wells as Irishman 48 Mark Cassidy came around on opposite to jack Henstock, who took a fair few hits in quick succession. 13 ‘PeeWee’ was pushed and scrapped along the pit bend armco by 26 ‘Mr Alcohol’ Jeroen Muller. ‘PeeWee’ then used the Henstock car as his brakes by crashing into the Stinkbridge man head on as Muller spun of his own accord. 17 Kyle Overy came on opposite and tried pushing the 48 Cassidy car into the oncoming traffic on the exit of turn four. Meanwhile, 824 Polley went crashing into Jeroen Muller’s stationary car. 169 Steven Horsefield then went on opposite and jacked 61 Dan Reid whom had jacked 17 Overy, whilst 603 Cooper t-bonned 160 Jamie Warr through the passenger doors.
Race Winner: 348 ‘Mushy’ Sonny Sherwood
The Last Ever Firecracker Grand Final:
As you would expect, a big grid of just over 40 qualifiers returned to the track for the last ever Firecracker Final. One of the pre-race favourites 570 Jordan Cumming was spun on the entrance to turn three by 874 Howard Walker. Meanwhile, 111 Vic Bilkey Snr was followed in over on turn’s one and two by 604 Ross Cooper spinning 356 Harry Overy. 66 Darren Geary was spun on turn three and jacked by 305 Alfie Cornish on opposite. 215 Leonard Dunn then came in with a shot over the rear right wheel of 66 Geary. 347 Dave Bull then acme in with a crunching head on to 66 Geary. And the punishment wasn’t done there as he was then hit over the front left corner by 415 Scott Cornish in his MK2 Limo. Cornish was then met with a head by 738 Elliot Dobson who was helped in by 100 ‘Crazy Wes.’ 604 Ross Cooper got caught up on Geary’s mangled car and was jacked by 842 Jack Perkins. Perkins was then jacked hard by 100 Callum White. Without much steering left on his big Cadillac Hearse, 388 ‘Lump’ went into Callum White and was subsequently jacked hard by 239 ‘Nemesis’ Steve Carter. The red flags were brought out to check on a driver. 66 Geary climbed out of his wrecked jaguar with a massive smile on his face, which was great to see after all the hits he took, not only in this race but also in the earlier heat race! A true entertainer!
The restart saw ‘Nemesis’ carry on his wrecking mission by turning around on turn four before delivering a head on to heat six winner 192 Anthony Lawrence. 644 Karl Jarvis then dished out a solid head on to ‘Nemesis’. Jarvis was then jacked by 100 White. 100 ‘Crazy Wes’ then came on opposite and pushed 644 Jarvis in the way of 890 Leszek ‘Pavarotti’ Maliowinsky who hit Jarvis over his front right wheel. 239 ‘Nemesis’ then jacked 100 ‘Crazy Wes’ pushing him into 623 ‘Tricky’ Ricky Hutton giving him a head on. 382 Tommy Hutchings then jacked 623 ‘Tricky’ as a small pile up formed on the exit of turn four. ‘Nemesis’ then delivered a massive head on to 347 Dave Bull on the exit of turn four snapping Bull’s Jaguar. ‘Nemesis’ then met 399 Johnny Atkin on the nose who was also jacked by 141 Dan Steele. 384 John Golden followed in 100 Callum White on turn three hard as cars fought hard to try and get through the track blockage on the exit of turn four. 305 Cornish came around on opposite to jack 100 ‘Crazy Wes.’ 341 Andrew Jones then attacked 123 Tony Hutton on the exit of turn four before jacking 61 Hendrik Domine. 294 Lee Hughes came through the cranage to be crowned the last ever Firecracker Champion followed home by brother 27 Dale with 384 John Golden coming home third.
Firecracker XXVII Champion: 294 Lee Hughes
Allcomers into Destruction Derby:
The allcomers started with 239 ‘Nemesis’ t-boning 27 Tommy Anderson hard on the entrance to turn three. ‘Nemesis’ then went on opposite down the back straight to jack 94 Jan Willem Stevens. The red flags were brought out to check on Tommy Anderson after receiving that brutal T-bone from 239 ‘Nemesis’.
The restart saw ‘Nemesis’ pick up 178 Ruud van Kuijk on the entry to turn three, following him in. ‘Nemesis’ then flicked his Jaguar around and delivered a head on to 13 ‘PeeWee’. ‘PeeWee’ was then jacked by 100 Callum White. White was then jacked by the Lincoln Town Limo of 498 Jason Curtis with a splintering hit. 222 Matty High then followed in 240 Charlie Korpiela going head on to 100 Callum White. 648 Jamie Smith then jacked High. 204 Charlie ‘Boy’ King went in on 100 Callum White’s Hearse and got jacked himself by 05 Daan Van Dijk. 349 ‘Noddy’ Lewis Price came from opposite and pilled in on White’s Hearse. Over on the back straight, Van Dijk went in on 349 ‘Noddy’. Van Dijk was then hit hard by the allcomers winner 648 Jamie Smith as 312 Tom Reynolds delivered the final shot to White’s Hearse, completely ruining it. As Reynolds reversed, he was jacked by 648 Smith. 498 Curtis battled 160 Jamie Warr for the DD win with Curtis coming out on top!
Allcomers Winner: 648 Jamie Smith
Destruction Derby Winner: 498 Jason Curtis
Entertainer of the Day: 239 ‘Nemesis’ Steve Carter
And so that was that, 40 years of wrecking and racing had come to an end. It was a fantastic day of racing with loads of lovely cars and some mega hard hits going in. Well done to all drivers for their efforts throughout the day and thank you for your efforts. Also, a thank you must be said to the Arena Essex management team for their efforts over the years. It’s sad to see another track go, that’s three within the last four years with more tracks now under threat. Please continue to support tracks whenever and wherever you can, especially the smaller independent ones as we continue to fight to ensure the safety of our sport over the coming years.
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